Giovanni da Verrazano, a Tuscan-born navigator sailing for France, discovered
New York Bay in 1524. In 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman employed by the Dutch,
reached the bay and sailed the river from there (now called the Hudson River).
That same year, northern New York was explored and claimed for France by Samuel
de Champlain.
In 1624 the first permanent Dutch settlement was established at Fort Orange (now
Albany). One year later, Peter Minuet purchased Manhattan Island from the Native
Americans for a collection of “trinkets” worth about 60 Dutch guilders,
and founded the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (now New York City). New York City
was surrendered to the English in 1664.
New York’s rapid commercial growth may be partly attributed to Gov. De Witt Clinton,
who pushed through the construction of the Erie Canal (Buffalo to Albany), which
was opened in 1825. Today, the 641-mile Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway connects
New York City with Buffalo, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania highway
systems. Two toll-free superhighways, the Adirondack Northway (linking Albany
with the Canadian border) and the North-South Expressway (crossing central New
York from the Pennsylvania border to the Thousand Islands), have also helped to
increase trade and economic development.
The great metropolis of New York City is the nerve center of the nation. New York
leads the nation in manufacturing, foreign trade, commerce and banking, book and
magazine publishing, and theatrical production. A leading seaport, John F. Kennedy
International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. The printing
and publishing industry is the city’s largest manufacturing employer, followed
by the apparel industry.
New York features many major tourist attractions including: Castle Clinton, which
was built in 1808 to defend New York Harbor and, in 1823, was declared a national
monument and renamed Castle Garden. The world-famous Statue of Liberty National
Monument, which stands 151 feet and 1 inch high and Niagara Falls, a famed location
for lovers. New York also boasts a large number of National Historic Sites including
the homes of Franklin D. Roosevelt at Hyde Park and Theodore Roosevelt in Oyster
Bay. Visitors may also want to visit the Women’s Rights National Historical Park
in Seneca Falls; Grant’s Tomb and Federal Hall in New York City or the Baseball
Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

A Few facts about New York:

• The population of New York is approximately 19,227,088 people.
• Land size, 47,214 square miles.
• Persons per square mile is 401.9
• 6.5% are kids under the age of 5 years old.
• 24.7% persons under the age of 18 years old.
• 12.9% of people are over the age of 65 years old.
• 51.8% female persons.
• The median household income is $43,393.
• The average per capita money income is $23,389.